


Eren is an idiot. jpeg

by say_no_to_hugs



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Asexual Character, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other, Polyamory, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-20 04:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2414708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/say_no_to_hugs/pseuds/say_no_to_hugs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A very shitty day and a lost USB stick brought them together. A failing grade and a tutoring agreement kept them together, but god knows when they'll actually be together together. Because, an overdue confession doesn't seem to be coming, and everyone knows that Levi is in denial, and Eren is an idiot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a hard knock life. mp3

Levi was having an especially shitty day. His days were usually pretty awful but this was a new low. 

He started the day in a pretty good mood, he woke up early and everything seemed fine until he got to the kitchen of his small shared apartment. Not only was his favorite cereal empty but the milk was two weeks past expired.

"Erwin you shitty bastard," he grumbled. His dumbass roommate ate all of his his cereal, and then had the nerve to forget that it was his week to go grocery shopping. 

Levi frowned before inspecting the fridge. There was only two eggs a glazed chocolate donut and a package of hotdogs. His cupboards yielded three packages of chicken flavored ramen and a pop tart. He sighed and grabbed the noodles, somehow he knew that it was going to be a very long day.

Levi quickly started a pot of water and threw in the noodles and chicken flavor. He opened the fridge and grabbed the hotdogs and eggs. He would have to make his specialty, poor freshman's ramen. He chopped up the hotdogs and tossed them into the boiling water. Levi grabbed the eggs, and cracked them into a small bowl adding, salt and pepper before whisking them, and stirring them into the soup. He turned off the fire and muttered a sarcastic 'bon appetite' before digging in.

"What the fuck was I on freshman year?" Levi groaned to himself. He remembered thinking it was delicious in his first year but it just tasted like shitty 99¢ ramen and bland hotdogs.  
After eating Levi figured he should probably head to class early just in case traffic was bad, it was only a fourteen minute drive, but he didn't want to push his luck. 

Levi's ancient Toyota was an extremely moody car that seemed to pick the worst times to malfunction just to spite Levi, so it came as no surprise to him when it decided to die. It was no surprise, but that doesn't mean Levi didn't get pissed off.

"You stupid piece of shit car!" Levi spewed profanities at his car in frustration before pulling out his phone and sighing. He had 28 minutes until his first class, he could make it if he hurried. 

Levi speed walked all the way to campus in about 22 minutes leaving him breathless and sweaty. His literature professor gave a long lecture about who know what before dismissing the class with a new assignment, a 5,000 word essay due the next class.

Levi was free the rest of the day so he decided to start the essay. He walked to the library and headed to the back computers. He took the one farthest away from the other people and turned it on. Levi fished in his bag for his USB stick, grabbed it and attempted to put it into the hole only to find that there was already one there.

"What the fuck?" Levi looked around but everyone around him sat at their own computers and no one seemed to be looking for anything. He debated whether to look into the persons files or not and then clicked files. He figured whatever was on the USB couldn't be that important if the person forgot it.

The first few folders did little to help Levi determine who the hell the USB belonged to. They were filled with admittedly good photos of nature and drawings. 

"Jeez what kind of sappy art student is this," Levi said as he looked at the photos in a folder called summer 2014. He scanned through photo after photo of bonfires, fireworks, beaches, and people before he saw a familiar face. 

In a picture towards the bottom were three kids at a beach, Armin Arlert, a freshman acquaintance of his in his advanced comp class, a grinning brunette with green eyes who was holding the camera, and a pretty Asian girl who frowned at the camera. 

Levi couldn't help but smile at the photo. The three kids reminded him of himself and his best friends Erwin and Hanji when they were younger. Hanji would always take pictures of the the of them in which Hanji would grin cheesily, Erwin would smile warmly, and Levi would try his hardest to look like he hated them but would always look as if he was only slightly irritated by them. He started to reminisce before he realized what he was doing.

Levi pulled himself out of his memories and pulled out his phone. He was pretty sure he had Armin's number. He quickly scrolled through his contacts and reached Armin. He clicked compose text and sent a message.

Levi: Hey Armin, can you meet me @ the Trost café in about 15.

A minute later a text came in.

Armin: I can't. My friend misplaced his usb and i said i'd help him find it. (-_-) sorry

Levi grinned.

Levi: I think I might have already found it.

...

Eren was seriously debating whether or not to kill Jean Kirstien. Sure they had been friends since eighth grade, and he was Eren's only friend in Classic Literature, but Eren was pretty sure he could live without him.

The reason Eren was contemplating murder was because Jean was being a total asshole. When Eren explained his USB dilemma to him and Armin, Jean had the nerve to laugh.

"What kind of dumbass forgets to grab a USB that not only has all his art on it, but his Lit. report that's due next class too!" Jean howled.

"I'm the dumbass? You're the one who didn't even know we had a report due until a few minutes ago."

"At least I can still do mine. You don't even have a spare USB you idiot!" Jean retorted. Eren was five seconds away from punching him in the face when Armin rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"You two are both irresponsible idiots so neither of you can talk," he frowned at the two of them, "Honestly it's a miracle that you two have managed to survive college this long."

Eren and Jean pouted. "We aren't that stupid," they said in unison.

"Not stupid just idiotic," Armin said, "Luckily for you Eren, I am not an idiot and I may have just saved your dumb ass," Armin grinned at his phone screen

"Why do you say that? Did you find it?" Eren's expression went from angry and distressed to relieved in a split second, "oh my god Armin you are a life saver!"

"I didn't find it," Armin explained, " my friend Levi did, he said he'll meet us at Trost Café in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you Armin," Eren shouted, "I could kiss you right now!" He tackled Armin into a huge bear hug.

"You better not Jaeger," Jean growled pushing Eren away and wrapping an arm around Armin.

"Relax horseface I'm not gonna steal your boyfriend, it's just a metaphor." Eren smirked whilst standing up.

"Its an expression dummy," Armin corrected rolling his eyes at his best friend. 

"Same difference Armin," Eren laughed before skipping out of the dorm room door.

...

The ride to Trost was relatively uneventful. The most interesting event being Jean calling an old lady an asshole out of anger.

When they arrived at the small café Jean ran to the door and chivalrously held it open for Armin, and then slammed it in Eren's face just to irritate him.

Armin led the trio to the back of the warmly lit café, and approached a table where a small raven haired man sat.

"Hey Levi," Armin greeted the man who held his teacup by the top, " this is my boyfriend, Jean, and my friend, Eren." Armin pointed to the two who were arguing about something stupid.

"Nice to meet you," Levi said starting at them emotionlessly. He turned to Eren and pulled out a USB stick, "I assume this is yours."

"How did you know?" Eren asked curiously.

"There was picture with you, Armin and some girl on it."

"Thanks." Eren reached out and grabbed his USB. 'Levi is like some kind of leprechaun,' he thought staring at the man in front of him.

"Is that a short joke, brat?" Levi glared at Eren and Jean snickered.  
"Oh um no," Eren winced at Levi's cold tone, "I just meant your like a lucky charm or something."

"I'm sorry, Eren can be an idiot sometimes," Armin said.

"It's okay," Levi said with a small smile, "I figured that when I found his USB." 

"Hey you aren't supposed to agree," Eren complained. When he realized he was talking to Levi his eyes widened. Then Levi did something that surprised him, he laughed.

"You remind me of an old friend of mine," he said to Eren.

Armin stared at Levi in disbelief, " Holy shit!"

"What," Levi snapped.

"Nothing," Armin said grinning. Just then a waitress arrived with a plate of strawberry cake in her hands.

"Would you guys like anything," she asked setting the cake in front of Levi. She looked up and smiled before she realized her customers were Eren, Jean and Armin. "Hey guys," she grinned.

"Oh hey Sasha," Eren smiled up at the pretty brunette, "I'll have my regular."

"One cinnamon caramel hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and mocha drizzle," she mumbled while scribbling the order on her notepad, "and for you two?"

"A vanilla milkshake and a pumpkin pie latte."

"Alright," she said walking away with a grin," I'll be back in a second."

Levi looked at his watch and sighed, "well I better get going," he stood up, and Eren could help but to think that he was shorter than he originally thought.

"Wait do you want to hang out, we could give you a ride," Armin offered.

"No thanks, I wouldn't want to intrude," Levi said, leaving some cash on the table and walking away. "

"Is he usually that frigid," Jean asked as soon as Levi was out of earshot.

"He warms up to you the more time you spend with him," Armin replied.Eren wasn't convinced.


	2. Shitty babies.gif

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren asks Levi for a favor. Also commander handsome is introduced.

"Honestly, I am done with all these shitty babies," Levi groaned to Erwin as they passed yet another group of freshman acting like numbskulls. It was only the third month, and he was already tired of the younger generation's antics.

"I don't know I think they're kinda endearing," Erwin smiled at a large group of freshmen, "they're kinda like puppies." Levi was always more of a cat person. 

"Levi!" A familiar voice rang out through the cacophony of chaotic sounds. A tall brown haired streak broke through the crowd and ran up towards. "Levi I need to ask you something." Levi walked faster and Erwin followed.

"Um, I think someone is calling you," Erwin said.

"Yeah I know," Levi was practically running by then but his short legs made him easy to catch up to.

"Levi!" 

"What!"

"I need to ask you something," Eren muttered, looking down at the shorter man.

"You already said that. Just ask, I don't have all day."

"Um," Eren mumbled while twiddling his fingers and blushing.

"Don't tell me your asking me out," Levi said bluntly. There were always freshman kids developing crushes on Erwin, but he never really had many suitors. He almost always scared them away.

"No way," Eren said frantically blushing like a tomato, "that's not it!" Erwin snickered at his reaction.

Levi tried not to get offended, "well, what is it?"

"Can you tutor me in literature?"

Levi paused, that was not what he expected. "No," Levi finally said, "ask Armin." What kind of person asks someone they barely know to tutor them, when they already know someone who can?

"Armin won't do it. He says I'm practically unteachable," Eren said, "please Levi I can't afford to fail this class, I'm on a scholarship."

Levi was conflicted. He was pretty sure that even if he did agree to tutor Eren, he would have the patience to deal with him. But he also understood what Eren's situation was like. He sighed knowing he would probably regret his answer, "fine I'll tutor you."

"Thank you," Eren practically shouted before shooting Levi a blinding smile.

"I'll give you a week before you start to regret it," Erwin smirked.

... 

Levi didn't even last four days. He tried to be patient, but Eren was an idiot when it came to literature.   
"This is so hard," Eren whined as Levi tried for the fifth time to explain the simple idea of symbolism.

"What's so fucking hard to understand," Levi snapped, "symbolism is when an object in the story, isn't taken at its literal value, and is instead used to represent an idea or another object."

"Yeah I get that, but how can you tell when something is supposed to be a symbol or not? Why the hell don't authors just say what it is, like in a metaphor?

"Authors don't just go around saying everything, they try to leave stuff up to the reader and get people thinking."

"Oh," Eren said, "I guess that makes sense."

As much as Levi complained he had to admit Eren was making progress, slow progress, but progress none the less. The first day Levi started tutoring Eren was a catastrophe. At first Eren didn't even really know the difference between metaphors, and expressions. But he was slowly developing a firm grasp on more abstract ideas like ambiguity and symbolism. He still wasn't quite at a college level but he was improving.

"Oi, Levi can we take a break? I'm starving," Eren's piercing green eyes locked on to Levi's, and he gave him a pout. Levi swore Eren was using magic, because he was planning to say no, but instead he agreed.

"Fine brat," Levi spat, "make it quick."

"Aren't you coming?"

"No just go to the cafeteria and bring me back a chicken salad and some pasta."

"Ok," Eren said, "I'll be back in a few."

Levi pulled out his phone and sent a text to Armin.

Levi: You were right. Eren is practically unteachable.

Armin: Have you given up yet?

Lev: nah Eren isn't completely unteachable he has made progress. To be honest he learned a lot in four weeks.

Armin: wtf are you ok it sounded like you're becoming fond of Eren 

Levi: no

Levi: He is irritating

Armin: ok...

Levi: he is

Armin: if you say so

Levi: HE IS!

Eren choose that moment to sneak up behind Levi, "who are you texting?"

Levi yelped and almost dropped his phone. He glared at Eren, "It's none of your business!"

"Why are you blushing? Is it your girlfriend," Eren teased.

"No!"

"Then is it your boyfriend?"

"No! I'm not even blushing," Levi shouted.

"Ok," Eren said, "I'll figure it out eventually." He set Levi's food in front of him. Levi opened the bag.

"I said chicken salad, not chicken pasta, idiot," he complained.

"Oh well, you'll survive," Eren shrugged.

"It's probably gonna be gross."

"No it's not, just try it,"

Levi ate it. It was good.


	3. congrats loser. gif

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren gets excited over mediocre grades and Levi is a big baby with no social life.

"Levi, guess what," Eren practically shrieked in the phone causing Levi to flinch. He really shouldn't have picked up his phone. He probably wouldn't have answered if he had known Eren would be hollering in his ear at the butt-crack of dawn on a Saturday. But he decided since he was already on the phone he might as well humor the brat on the other end.

"What Eren."

"I'm not gonna tell you; you have to guess," Eren giggled. Levi rolled his eyes. It was too early in the morning for childish games.

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Just guess!"

Levi glanced at his alarm clock on his desk. The florescent green numbers read 9:00 which meant it was still too damn early for Eren’s bullshit. "I'm not gonna guess Eren," he said exasperatedly, "just tell me before I hang up the goddamn phone."

His harsh tone made Eren sigh in defeat, "Fine, party pooper, I'll tell you. You know how you've been tutoring me."  
"No I had no idea," Levi said sarcastically.

"Shut up or I won't tell you," Levi didn't have the heart to tell Eren it didn't matter of he told him or not so he just waited silently, "I got a C+ on my literature test”

“A C+,” Levi repeated.

“Yes a C+,” Levi could hear the grin in Eren’s voice. He seemed pretty excited for a C.Honestly Levi wasn’t even sure whether or not that was a good thing. He blinked twice before responding hesitantly.

“That’s… great Eren.”

“It’s not really that good but it’s better than my last grade,” Eren laughed.

“Does that mean you still need help?” Levi tried to sound indifferent but probably failed. It’s not that he wanted to spend time with Eren, he would just be bored without anyone to pick on. He had nothing to do and a practically nonexistent social life so tutoring Eren had become his primary source of entertainment.

“Yeah,” Eren said, “I’m still barely passing the class so I will need a little extra help, but if you don’t want to I could ask Armin.”

“No, Its fine,” Levi said softly yawning, “I wouldn’t want to put Armin through that kind of pain especially the day before his birthday.”

“Oh yeah,” Eren proclaimed, “My friends and I are planning a surprise party for him. Are you going to come?” Levi was about to say yes then paused. He wasn’t quite sure if he should go. Yeah Armin was his friend, but other than him and Eren; Levi probably wouldn’t know anyone. He was pretty sure the majority of the group would be a bunch of rowdy 19 year olds. Sure, Levi was only 22, but he most of the times he acted more like a 30 year old man. He was pretty sure he would end up as either the odd man out or an unwanted babysitter. He really didn’t want to be either.

“I don’t know,” Levi responded, “I won’t know anyone besides you two brats, and your friends probably won’t want me there.”

“So what, if you’re really worried about that, treat this as a chance to make some new acquaintances,” Eren said, “If anyone has a problem with it they can suck my ass because it's Armin’s party not theirs.”

“Ok. I’ll come.”

“Good,” Eren said, "it's tonight from nine pm to twelve at Armin's apartment." Eren said before hanging up the phone, not giving Levi a chance to change his mind.

"What kind of idiot waits until the last minute to ask these people kind of things," Levi groaned. He looked at his clock which now read 9:10. He doubted he would be able to go back to sleep so he sighed and got dressed. He only had a few hours to figure out an acceptable gift for Armin. He cursed Eren silently and grabbed his keys paying his car was in a good mood. It seemed to have worked because besides a few odd noises Levi's car acted fine.

Levi drove to the mall whilst searching his mind for gift ideas. The only thing he could come up with was a book that Armin kept saying he wanted to read, but he couldn't find at the library. He stopped at Barnes and Nobles to see if he could find the it. He searched for a little while and saw it in the bestselling fiction section. He wasn't sure that was a good enough gift, but he figured it would have to do. He quickly brought it to the register and grabbed a gift card just in case.

"That was surprisingly easy," he mumbled to himself walking out the store and into the nippy fall air. "I guess I can go home now since I don't have anything to do," He still needed to wrap the present and all that crap, but he had a little free time. So as soon as he got home he sat on the couch and took a nap.

...

Levi woke up at around eight and realized he had no idea where Armin's apartment was and he still hadn't gotten ready or wrapped the present.

"Shit," he said sending a text to Eren asking for Armin's address. He frantically put on a T-shirt some jeans and a flannel, figuring it looked casual enough before hearing a text notification and scrambling to his phone. He unlocked it only to find a very stupid message from Eren.

Eren:  
Idk I forgot

Levi wanted to jump through his phone and strangle Eren. Sadly, that kind of thing was only possible in cartoons and movies.

Levi:  
What do you mean you don't know. You're such a dumbass!

Eren replied quickly.

Eren:  
I'm not a dumbass jeez.

Eren:  
If u want I can give u a ride

Levi:  
Ok

Eren:  
10 minutes?

Levi:  
Ok dumbass

Eren:  
Ur so mean :( 

Levi:  
Thanks I try

He smiled at his phone, sat down, and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a filler but next chapter will have a whole bunch of familiar faces and possibly something exciting


	4. Bottoms up. mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi can't take his alcohol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever because it deleted and I had to start over. Sorry!

Eren learned very quickly that Levi and alcohol did not mix well. Armin's party started off pretty well, how it had turned so wild so quick was a mystery.

The party started when the entirety of the group hid in Armin's apartment, to surprise Armin, only to fail. When Armin walked through the door, he only have a halfhearted yelp. "What the heck," Eren said, "who told Armin about the party?" He said accusingly.

"No one told me Eren," Armin sighed.

"Then how are you not surprised?"

"I don't know, maybe because you plan me a surprise party every year," Armin said sarcastically.

"Oh," Eren muttered.

"Idiot," Armin said.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Sure you aren't."

"I'm not," Eren said, " I'm not an idiot right Levi?"

"I really try not to lie, Eren."

"Oh come on."

Jean and Marco walked up to Armin and both gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"These are my boyfriends Marco and Jean.You remember Jean, right Levi?" Armin asked.

"Yeah."

"Who wouldn't remember a face like that," Eren muttered.

"Oi what the fuck are you trying to say?" Jean said angrily glaring at Eren.

"Nothing, ponyboy," Eren laughed.

Marco frowned at Eren disappointedly, "honestly, Eren, must you act like such a child."

Eren flashed Marco a roguish grin, "I am a child, Marco." He turned to Levi and said, "we call this one freckled Jesus for obvious reasons." 

Mikasa, who had been listening to the conversation with amusement, laughed. "At least Marco and Jean get laid, you haven't had sex since high school."

"That's not true! I've gotten laid plenty of times since high school," Eren said, red dusting his cheeks. 

"Name one person."

Eren was silent. He thought back and came up with no names. "Just because I can't think of their names doesn't mean it hasn't happened." Levi laughed at that causing Eren's face to look like the backside of a baboon.

Mikasa looked at Levi and a weird expression took over her face. She started at him as if he had murdered her best friend. "Who is this, Eren?" She asked, and something gave him the feeling that she already knew the answer to that question.

"Mikasa this is Levi, Levi that's Mikasa," he said. The two stared at each other like boxers in a ring. Armin, Jean, and Marco took one look at the scene unfolding before them, and excused themselves. Eren almost left with them. "Do you guys know each other?"

"No," they said in unison. For Levi it was believable, but Eren could tell Mikasa was lying.

"Is Levi your boyfriend, Eren," Mikasa asked.

"No," Eren said warily; the look Mikasa had in her eyes could only spell trouble. Eren had to figure out how to defuse the situation before World War three broke out.

"Good," Mikasa smirked, "you can do so much better," Mikasa's words carried enough venom to kill a full grown bull.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean," Levi spat.

"You heard me, midget." Eren decided to break up their argument before any punches were thrown.

"Levi, I still have to let you meet Connie and Sasha. You'll love them," he said dragging Levi away from Mikasa.

"What the fuck was her problem," Levi asked Eren. "Was she your ex girlfriend or something?" 

"No she's my sister. I'm sorry about that, she can be a little intense."

"No kidding," Levi said, "so who are Sasha and Connie?"

Eren pointed towards the small kitchen in Armin's apartment, "you see those two goofing off with the party snacks?"

"The baldy and the brunette?"

"Yeah," Eren nodded, "those two are Sasha and Connie."

Levi stared at them for awhile. Connie was sticking pretzel sticks in his mouth and acting like a walrus, while Sasha tried to throw popcorn into his mouth. "Are they a couple?"

"Nah, Connie's aromantic and Sasha has a huge crush on Mikasa." Levi stared at Eren incredulously. "I know. I don't get it either, but they'd be cute together."

Eren headed to the cooler and offered Levi a beer. "Put that shit back," a booming voice exclaimed, "I brought real booze!" Reiner Braun said holding up a bottle of Smirnoff and some tequila. Everyone stared in disbelief.

"How the hell did you get that?" Connie exclaimed.

"They never card me," he said. "If you think this is impressive wait till you see what else we have," he said gesturing towards Bertolt.

"Jesus Christ," Jean said, "you have enough booze to open a bar!"

"Shots for everyone," Reiner shouted. Everyone cheered except for Eren, Levi and Armin. Eren because he was Levi's designated driver and Armin because he didn't feel like cleaning up after a bunch of drunks. Reiner gave a booming laugh, "who will be first drinker," he looked around the room and his eyes settled on Levi. "How about you, what is your name?"

"It's Levi, and I'm not drinking."

"Come on Levi don't be a party pooper," he said pouring Levi a large shot of vanilla Smirnoff, "live a little." Levi stared at the shot glass that in his hand. Everyone began to chant his name. He looked like he wanted to chuck the glass at Reiner, but instead he glared at him and swallowed the shot in over gulp. He slammed the glass down, and smirked.

"Another," he said, the room cheered.

****

It was after Levi's sixth shot that Eren could tell he had had too much. Levi's usual behavior was nowhere to be found. Drunk Levi was loud, charming, and flirty. He was entertaining everyone with tales of his post escapades as a freshman. Eren was not so amused. When Reiner offered Levi another drink, Eren glared at him and took it from Levi's hands. "No more alcohol, Levi."

"Why not," Levi whined.

"Because you're drunk," he said.

"I'm not," Levi protested. He batted his eyes at Eren, "not even just one more?"

"No, only water."

"Please, Eren," Levi said sitting on Eren's lap and wrapping his arms around Eren's neck, "I'll be good, I promise," he whispered huskily.

"No, Levi," Eren said.

"Please," Levi begged before kissing Eren's neck, "just. One. Drink," he said punctuating each word with a kiss.

"Levi," Eren warned.

"Eren," Levi practically moaned. Eren blushed and looked around frantically for help. The only people paying attention to his predicament were Jean and Krista. Jean seemed to find the situation hilarious, and Krista was a little preoccupied with her girlfriend Ymir, who was drunk off her ass. Krista shot Eren an apologetic look before returning her attention to her intoxicated girlfriend.

"Levi, you don't need another drink," Eren said to the older man who was running his hands through Eren's hair.

Levi's hands stopped moving abs he spoke. "Yes I do Eren," Levi pouted, "just one more, I promise." 

"Fine," Eren surrendered handing Levi the cup of vodka and fruit juice, "only this."

"Thanks Eren," Levi gave Eren a kiss, "you're the best." He scampered off leaving a very shocked Eren behind.

"Did Levi just kiss you," Jean laughed, "he's gonna regret that in the morning."

"Shut up," Eren snapped, "I doubt he'll even remember," he said. He knew Levi was probably going to forget everything he did in his drunken state, but a small part of Eren hoped he wouldn't.


	5. Nancy Drew.pdf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The biggest mystery of Levi's goddamned life. He should really just call Scooby and the gang.

Levi woke up with a splitting headache and a sour taste in his mouth. Everything he did the previous night was a vodka tainted blur, and he only remembered one thing that happened. He sat up quickly and groaned. Not only had he gotten so drunk he had acted like a complete fool, but he also harassed every walking thing with his flirty winks and cheesy pick-up lines. He buried his head in his pillow and moaned. What the hell was he thinking? There was a reason he never drank; he was a disgustingly flirty drunk.

He sat back up and looked towards his night table. On it sat a glass of water, two advil pills, and a note. Levi picked up the note and read it aloud, "Levi, Eren dropped you off last night. He said that you would probably have a bad hangover when you woke up. Love, Erwin." Levi grabbed the advil and swallowed them with a swig of water.

Levi shuffled towards the bathroom groaning and clutched his throbbing head. Part of him was annoyed that neither Eren nor Erwin had tried to get him to shower before he slept. He hated sleeping in the days dirt, but he also knew he was a horny drunk, and that would not have ended well.

He stepped into the shower and stood under the warm water. Levi rested his head on the cold times of the shower and tried to remember what happened the previous night. Normally his memories would come back to him when he did something similar to what he did in his drunken state. It was like deja vu but sorta different. Levi would usually wait for his memories to return on their own, but he had a feeling he was forgetting something important something that had to do with Eren. Levi gave up and went through his morning routine. It was probably no big deal.

Levi walked into the kitchen and debated what to eat. He never really knew what you were supposed to eat for a hangover. Erwin swore that greasy bacon and eggs were the best bet, but eating shit like that always made Levi sick. Hanji would usually mix up a vile concoction of God knows what and drink it. It worked pretty well but the taste was awful. Levi eventually just put a slice of bread in the toaster and ate a banana while he waited.

There was a loud buzz from the counter and Levi went to grab his cellphone. He squinted at the blindingly bright screen and quickly unlocked it. As soon as he did what seemed like thousands of notifications flooded his screen and caused his phone to act like a vibrator on crack. There a bunch of texts from unfamiliar numbers clogging up his phone. "What the hell," he muttered looking through messages he didn't remember sending.

He had almost 100 new messages and a quarter as many new contacts. All of them had peculiar names that didn't help figure out who they were. The only familiar ones were Freckled Jesus and Horseface. He remembered Eren briefly introducing him to them, Marco and Jean, Armin's boyfriends. The other names were not recognizable at all. Sweaty Giant, Bara God, Freckled Bitch, The Goddess, and Bitchy Ex-Girlfriend were some of the most confusing. "Jeez," he said running his hand through his hair, "I sure am social when I'm drunk. He decided to text Eren to see if he could help him figure out what happened the night before. After all, the kid did bring his drunk ass home.

Levi: Eren what the hell even happened last night?

Eren: you mean you don't remember anything

Levi: obviously not if I'm asking you

Eren: nothing at all?

Levi: Nope. I remember nothing

Eren: oh 

Eren didn’t reply for awhile and Levi awkwardly gnawed on his toast; he didn’t have anything to do other then message all his new contacts to figure out who they were, and he didn’t posses enough patience to accomplish that task. Eren usually was quicker to reply and he almost always sent unbearably long texts. ‘What the hell happened last night,’ He thought. None of the previous nights memories had returned.

He looked through his photos hoping they would jog his memories. It was only picture after picture of him drinking and doing mortifying things. Levi was almost glad he had no memories of what had occurred at the party. Based on the pictures all he had done was play drinking games, dance around, and act incredibly stupid with a bunch of kids.

Eren finally replied, and Levi could not help being disappointed at the sparse message.

Eren: not much happened

Levi: well what the hell is not much. I’m too damn hungover for dumbass cryptic texts

Eren: nothing happened you just got drunk and did weird shit. jeez

Levi had a feeling Eren was lying to him, or at least leaving some important details out. He tried to remember if he had done anything that would irritate or anger Eren, but his mind drew a blank. He had no idea what had happened, but it seemed like Eren was pretty mad at him.

Levi: are you mad at me or something?

He waited for Eren to reply. Eren kept writing and then stopping, but no message came. “He better be summarizing the whole night’s events I swear.” Finally a text came in.

Eren: No.

Levi grimaced. Not only had he taken forever, Eren had also used punctuation, and he had capitalized the ‘n’ in no. He knew enough to know something had happened between them the previous night, and whatever it was, it was bothering Eren. Normally making someone mad wouldn’t have phased him, but he didn’t even know what he had done. He was getting nowhere with eren, so he quickly sent Armin a text asking if he knew what he had done last night to make Eren so mad at him. Armin replied within seconds.

Armin: I’m not sure. why don’t you ask Eren

Levi: I already did 

Armin: well idk if I should tell u... 

Levi almost reached through the phone to slap him. Everyone’s cryptic messages were really starting to annoy him. All he wanted was a straight answer but apparently that was too much to ask.

Levi: jfc Armin I swear to fuck. How am I supposed to know if nobody will tell me??¿¿? At least give me a hint.

Armin: All I can say is that u did something while u were drunk and he’s mad u don’t remember. It was kind of a big deal to him.

Levi groaned Armin’s hint was not much help. He knew he had done something, now he knew it was not what he had done, but the fact that he didn’t remember doing it that made Eren mad. He rubbed his temples. He sighed and knew what he had to do. He had to go through everything he had done at the party until he figured out what he had done to Eren. No matter what it would take.


	6. Nancy Drew(2).pdf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi puts his plan into action and ends up learning a lot more than he wanted to.

After going through his limited options and considering each and every one carefully, Levi decided that there was really only three ways to remember what had happened between him and Eren.

The first route was relatively simple in theory, but Levi knew the process would not be easy; Levi could just repeat his actions until he figured out what he had done to Eren. There were only a few flaws in his plan, number one was the fact that Eren was avoiding him like the plague, two was that Levi had no idea where to start, and weeding out possible offenses would be an extremely long process. It could take weeks to figure it out.

Levi’s second option wasn’t really that complicated; he would have to message all his newer contacts he had acquired at the party and ask if they knew what had happened. This plan also carried a few potential road blocks not only would he have to message 20+ people about the party’s events, but there was no guarantee that they would cooperate with him or even remember what had happened.

Sadly Levi already knew that the third option would probably yield the most results. In order for it to work Levi would have to get drunk in the presence of someone he trusted and be questioned to figure out what had happened. Levi was aware, from past experiences, that even though he was a total numbskull in his drunken state, he had complete memories of past drunken events that way. The only problem was that he had the attention span of a goldfish when he was in his intoxicated state. The answers he gave were likely to be vague and short. In short, it would be a very trying process, and he only knew one person that would be crazy enough to help him with it. That person was Hanji Zoe.

…

Hanji Zoe was one crazy motherfucker, and she knew it. She was a Psychology major, but her  minors were forensics  and biology. Her biggest passion in life was trying to figure things out; she was better at solving mysteries than Sherlock Holmes. So when Levi asked her to help with his insane plan she agreed immediately.

Hanji arrived at Levi’s house with excitement flowing through her veins. After Levi had an impressive amount of alcohol, and Hanji had deemed him to be inebriated she pulled out her video recorder and started asking him the simplest of the questions. “Okay Levi,” she said trying not to chuckle at her friend who was goofily grinning at her from across the room, “Where were you last Saturday night?”

“I was at Armin’s birthday party,” he said giggling.

“Who brought you to the party?”

“Eeereenn,” he replied in a sing-song voice.

“Good, good,” she said, “Did you hang out with Eren all night?”

“Nope, nope, nope,” Levi said.

“Who else did you hang out with then?”

“I hanged out with EVERYBODY!” Levi threw his arms into the air and grinned.

“Okay, well do you remember when you were with Eren last?”

“Yup, I pretended to be asleep so he would carry me up the stairs.”

“How about before that,” Hanji asked grinning at Levi. Levi paused for a second and then answered.

“Yeah I remember,” He nodded his head, “He wouldn’t let me have another drink cuz he thought I was drunk, I dunno why!”

“What did you do after that?”

Levi gave her a roughish grin, “I persuaded him.”

“How,” she asked him, but she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

Levi motioned for her to come closer. Hanji turned her head to him, and he whispered in her ear, “I seduced him,” he seemed very proud of it too.

“Oh,” Hanji said grinning, “I see.”

“After a while, he gave me a beer, and then I gave him a kiss.”

Hanji’s grin was unnaturally wide. Levi was a huge flirt when he was drunk, but it wasn’t often that he kissed people in that state. “Levi, do you like Eren?”

Levi gave her a sweet smile, “Of course I like Eren he’s my friend silly!”

“No I mean do you _like_ like Eren?” Levi blushed dark crimson.

“Yes,” he said, “but you can’t tell anyone.” He held out his pinky, “you have to pinky promise.”

Hanji latched her pinky with his and grinned, “I promise.”

…

Levi’s second hangover was a lot worse than the first. He began sobering up after an hour and a half, and his headache followed soon after. He glared at Hanji who had been filming his whole drunken experience with glee. She handed him a glass of water and some advil with a huge shit eating grin plastered on her face. “Quit smiling shitty-glasses and just show me the video,” Levi spat at her clutching his head.

Hanji opened up her computer and grinned at Levi, “Are you ready?” Levi nodded and Hanji pressed play. The grainy video started and Levi glared at the screen. On it he was grinning like an idiot and Hanji was asking him simple questions. Hanji had asked him who he’d hung out with and his reply made him groan in disgust. He couldn’t believe this idiot was actually him. Levi was an English major, yet he had sounded like a two year old on a sugar high. Hanji laughed at his expression, “It gets worse,” she said. Levi stared in disbelief. Sure enough, when Hanji asked him if he remembered when he was around Eren, Levi admitted to pretending to sleep so Eren would carry him. “ _How about before that,_ ” Hanji asked him on the screen.

“ _He wouldn’t let me have another drink cuz he thought I was drunk, I dunno why!_ ” Levi stared intently at the screen. Hanji paused the video and asked him if he was alright. “Of course I’m all right,” he snapped, “play the video.” Hanji reluctantly pressed play. She asked him what he had done after that, and he said he persuaded Eren. Levi grew pale, “no,” he whispered as his doppelganger whispered smugly, “ _I seduced him._ ” He glared at Hanji, “stop the video.” She glanced at him with a slight look of confliction but made no move to pause it. “ _After a while, he gave me a beer, and then I gave him a kiss,_ ” he said on the tiny screen of the computer.

The Hanji on the screen grinned, “ _Levi, do you like Eren?_ ”

“Hanji stop the video,” he said again. He looked away from the screen, but he could still hear what was going on.

“ _Of course I like Eren he’s my friend silly!_ ”

“ _No I mean do you_ like _like Eren?_ ” Levi felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn’t listen to it any longer.

“HANJI,” Levi shouted, and scrambled to Hanji pause the video, but it was too late; the damage was already done.

“ _Yes_ ,” he had said, and all of a sudden Levi’s carefully constructed world came crashing down.


	7. ghosts.gif

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi tries to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god this was so hard to write  
> italics are a flashback

Levi had built his heart up to be a practically impenetrable fortress. It had taken many, many years but he had built three layers of walls. His defensive walls were made of his harsh glares, perpetually grumpy looks, and rudeness. He rarely let people into his heart, but when he did it was after ages of them trying to get through his thick walls. It had taken Hanji and Erwin more than a month to even scratch the surface of him, and it took two years to see all of him. He had known Armin for three months and Armin had barely even broken through one layer of his defenses. But Eren, Eren had managed to worm through at least two layers in less than two months. Levi was terrified of what would happen if he let Eren get any closer to breaking his walls. This had only happened once before and Levi had refused to let it happen again. He couldn’t let it happen again

_She was the most beautiful thing Levi had ever laid eyes on. Her name was Petra Ral._

Levi managed to pull himself together for long enough to devise a new strategy. He just had to isolate himself from Eren long enough for his feelings to dissipate, and then he would have to rebuild his defenses. It would be easy. Eren was already avoiding him, and Levi had no classes with him. The only real mutual friend they had was Armin, so Levi would just ask Armin not to bring Eren if they hung out. Levi realized that sounded very selfish. Armin and Eren were best friends. He would probably just have to avoid Armin too. He paced the room trying to decide how he could avoid both of them. He would see Armin in class every Tuesday and Thursday. It would be hard to avoid him in class.

_He had first seen her in the halls in his senior year. She was just a junior. He had befriended her when he saw her in his AP Lit class. She had a beautiful smile, one that lit up her whole face. Once he saw it he was hooked. He soon realized he would do anything to make her smile. She was quickly accepted into his small friend group. The group consisted of him, Hanji, Erwin, Eld, Gunther, Auruo, and Petra. They were like family to him._

_He had never had a real family. His mother had died soon after his tenth birthday; his dad had never been around. The closest thing he had had to siblings were his friends Isabel and Farlan. They had lived with him in the orphanage and were his partners in petty crimes. They had died when they tried stealing from the wrong people and got killed._

Levi decided to go for a jog to clear his mind. He was still shaken up from his unfortunate realization. He ran with no direction in mind. He passed red leafed and barren trees for blocks. He was following his feet mindlessly staring at the scenery he passed. He tried denying it but deep down he knew what he was doing; he was running from his problems once again.

_He had fallen for Petra very hard and very fast. He had asked her out after a month of trying to deny his feelings, and within a few months of dating her he had realized he loved her. He was sure they would last. They were meant for each other. It was March 16 th when he decided to tell her. When he let the words fall from his mouth, he felt his heart drop. She just stared at him, but then her sides of her mouth lifted and she smiled. God, he loved her smile. She said to him only four words, but Levi swore those words held magic. “I love you too,” she said and Levi swore he was happier than he had ever been in that moment._

Levi felt tears well up in his eyes. He didn’t stop running. He couldn’t stop running. He pushed his tears back down and forced his feet to keep going. He was running from everything. He was running from his past; he was running from Eren; he was running from his fears, but somehow his feet ended up bringing him to a place he had avoided for a long time.

_Senior year ended before Levi could even blink. He, Hanji, and Erwin were all accepted to the same school, West Trost University. Gunther, Eld, and Auruo were going to some other schools in a whole other state, and Petra was still going to be in high school. They decided that their last night of school together was going to be special. Sure they would have a whole summer, but they wouldn’t be at the same school. They were going to party until the early hours of the morning. At first it was great. The party was loud and alive. The music sucked and so did the drinks but it didn’t matter. The group was together. That was all that mattered. After about an hour they were all completely wasted. They had no designated driver, but they didn’t care. They were together. That was all that mattered._

Levi stood in front of a seemingly innocent and average looking light pole and broke down in loud violent sobs. His body shook as tears streamed down his face. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t want to remember. There was a reason he kept up his walls. It wasn’t solely for his protection. It was never for his protection. He needed to protect people from himself.

_Levi really should have stayed sober. He had already known he didn’t react well with alcohol, but he had figured that he wouldn’t do anything too stupid if he was just hanging with his friends all night. He was very very wrong. After a few beers and some shots Levi was hammered. His surroundings were a blur of strobe lights and shitty party music._

_He had gotten separated from his friends after they had decided to dance. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to care. His objective had changed. He had come to the party to have a fun last night with his best friends, but all he could think about was dancing. He just wanted to dance, which was ironic considering the fact that he normally hated dancing with a passion. Or maybe he didn’t, he couldn’t remember. Levi was having the time of his life grinding against random strangers._

_He felt someone’s hands grab his waist, and he grinned. He pressed his ass against the stranger’s crotch and moved to the beat of whatever song was currently pounding through the speakers. He turned around and grinned at the man who smirked in return. Levi wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and rubbed against him seductively. Their bodies swayed to the beat that Levi could feel rattling in his bones. The man gently kissed the side of Levi’s chin before trailing his lips down Levi’s neck sucking and biting his skin. His lips found their way back up to Levi’s face, but before he could kiss Levi a strong force pulled him away._

_“Man what the he-” A fist cut off his sentence and sent the man to the floor._

_Levi decided to finish the sentence for him. “What the hell is your problem, Erwin?!”_

_“I should be asking you that question, Levi! Your girlfriend just ran out of here crying about you grinding and getting frisky with some college guy.”_

_Levi groaned suddenly sobering up. He had forgotten that he wasn’t single in his drunken haze. He had to make sure Petra was okay. He had to apologize._

_Levi shoved his way through the crowd. He stepped out into the warm June air yelling Petra’s name and found her sitting on the porch swing sobbing. He sat next to her and buried his head in his hands. “Petra I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize what I was doing I didn’t mean for you to see.”_

_“You didn’t mean for me to see,” Petra laughed humorlessly, “So you wouldn’t have stopped if I hadn’t seen you.”_

_“Fuck, that’s not what I meant.”_

_“Then what do you fucking mean Levi!” Levi had never seen Petra get so angry. Her eyes were red from crying and her face was red and splotchy. “What the hell do you mean.” This time she didn’t sound angry, just defeated. His strong, beautiful Petra looked defeated._

_“Petra I-”_

_“I think we should break up,” Petra cut him off with a sigh. Levi’s heart dropped straight out of his ass. He stared at her in disbelief. She gave another sigh, “It’s not just you and that guy. I’ve been thinking this for awhile. You’re going to college and we’re just going to end up drifting apart. I think it’s for the best if we just end it now.” Levi felt his heart snap in half physically, and then Petra delivered the finishing blow. “We can still be friends.”_

_Levi was just so fucking mad. He blew up on Petra. “You’re such a fucking selfish bitch!  I can’t believe I ever loved you. I don’t want your shitty pity friendship. Just get out of my fucking life! I never want to see you again!”_

Levi regretted saying that. He wished he could’ve gone back in time and taken it all back. He didn’t mean it he was just so hurt. He got so mad for such a stupid reason. He should’ve taken her offer of friendship. If he had she would still be alive, and so would Gunter, and Eld, and Auruo. If Levi hadn’t been such an ass they would probably still be friends. Because of his stupid mouth, they had left the party and wrapped their car around the stupid unassuming light pole he was currently standing at.

Petra had died thinking Levi had hated her, and as much as he wanted to he could never take back his words because she was fucking dead. He didn’t even remember the last thing he had said to the other three. Levi couldn’t stop shaking. The sky was getting dark and Levi felt panic take hold of him.  He frantically pulled out his phone and dialed ten digit numbers he somehow knew by heart.

He couldn’t hold his sob back when he heard Eren’s voice pour out of his phone. “Hello?” Eren’s voice was filled with concern, “Levi? Are you okay?”

Levi’s voice shook, “Eren, I know you’re mad at me but can you come pick me up?”

“Where are you?”

“At the corner of Maple and Andrews Street in South Trost.” Levi heard a pause. He had a feeling Eren wanted to ask why he was all the way in South Trost, but thankfully he didn’t.

“Hang on. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Do you want me to stay on the phone?”

“Yes please,” Levi slumped down next to the light suddenly feeling his exhaustion and the frigid fall air.

Within thirteen minutes Eren’s car pulled up next to the light. He rushed over to Levi with panic clouding his features. “Are you okay? Can you stand? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

“I’m fine Eren,” Levi said standing up shakily. Eren picked him up gently to Levi’s surprise.

“You’re not fine Levi. You were sitting by a fucking street light looking like you’d seen a ghost,” Eren snapped. He looked down at Levi’s surprised expression and sighed, “I was worried about you, you idiot,” he said softly.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” Levi stared at the profile of Eren’s face, his strong chin, his beautiful emerald eyes, his tanned, clear skin, his pink lips. Levi felt his heart skip a beat when Eren looked down at him. He suddenly came to the realization that Eren was very beautiful. He blushed at the thought. He had finally accepted it. Levi was falling for Eren Jaeger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im crying right now I hope you guys are happy


	8. Home.mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's wall comes down, and he and Eren make progress.

Eren had been worried sick when Levi had called him. He had only answered after Armin scolded him for ignoring Levi, but he was glad he did. Eren had never heard Levi sound anything less than collected (not including his drunken antics.) Eren couldn’t fathom the fact that Levi had called him whilst crying.

Eren glanced at Levi out of the corner of his eye. He was so quiet that Eren had assumed he was asleep, but he wasn’t. Levi stared blankly out the window with a slight frown tugging at his lips. Eren couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about and why he had been crying. Eren almost opened his mouth to ask, but he shut it quickly. He knew enough to guess that Levi didn’t want to talk about it, and he wasn’t one to pry. He wished Levi would say something though. The silence was becoming stifling.

He glanced back at Levi only to meet his grey eyes with his own green ones. Eren’s head turned back to the road at an alarming speed. He could feel the tips of his ears burning a vibrant bright red. Oh god he caught me staring. He can probably tell I’m blushing. Eren’s thoughts only caused him to blush harder the red quickly traveling from the tips of his ears down to his cheeks. Oh Good Lord! Why am I still blushing like a seventh grader thinking about their crush. Eren slowly gazed out the corner of his eyes to see if Levi had noticed his predicament. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw Levi smirking at him. Eren let out an embarrassing squeak and snapped his eyes back to the road at breakneck speeds.

“Oi kid,” Levi said nonchalantly, “take a picture, it’ll last longer.” With that comment Eren quickly turned from a slightly red faced young man to a tomato with a surprised face.

Eren’s eyes stayed on the road for pretty much the whole ride after that. Using all his willpower, he somehow managed to stop staring at Levi, yet his mind was still curious. He had an abundance of questions bouncing around his head like the ball in the game breakout. He didn’t dare say them aloud to Levi he couldn’t deny his curiosity, but he also didn’t want to pry into Levi’s personal business. Everyone had their demons and how they dealt with them was their business. If Levi wanted to tell Eren, he would. Still Eren wondered what had happened and why Levi had decided to call him.

Eren was unsure of whether to drive to Levi’s apartment or his own dorm, so he decided on neutral territory. It was only after he pulled up into the parking lot of Trost café that he realized that it wasn’t exactly neutral territory. He glanced at Levi only to see the shorter man staring at the café with an odd clouded look in his eyes. “Uh sorry Levi,” Eren rubbed the back of his neck, “If you want we can go somewhere else. There is a diner down the street from here.”

Levi looked up at Eren with a slightly nostalgic smile tugging at his lips, “This is fine,” than almost as an afterthought he added, “This is where we first met, isn’t it?”

Eren was slightly surprised he remembered, he would’ve thought that the memory of the place where they first met would be unimportant to Levi. The two of them hadn’t exactly been the best of friends at the start. He looked down at Levi. This is where it all began he couldn’t help but to grin.

The two chose a booth near the back of the café and awkwardly sat down across from each other. Eren picked up his menu and scanned the list of foods and drinks that the café offered. He wasn’t even hungry but he didn’t want to look like a complete imbecile just sitting there. He glanced over the top of the menu only to catch Levi doing the same.

“Quit looking at me, brat” Levi hissed quietly, but Eren could hear the blush in his voice.

“You wouldn’t know that I was looking if you weren’t looking too,” Eren said childishly.

“I wasn’t looking until I felt your beady little eyes staring holes into my head,” Levi retorted

“That’s not true! I saw you looking at me as soon as I glanced up. If anyone’s beady little eyes were staring it would be yours.”

Levi's pale skin flushed at the accusation and Eren grinned smugly. “Well at least I wasn’t staring in the car, you absolute infant.”

“Hey I’m not an infant, you crotchety old man.”

“Oi, I’m not that old you damn, brat!”

“You’re older than my grandpa, and you’re a shorty too!”

“Take. It. Back.”

“Make me,” Eren stuck his tongue out at Levi tauntingly.

There was a loud bang and Eren cursed loudly. “What the hell did you just kick me!”

“Not so short now am I you bastard!” Levi cried victoriously but he soon realized his mistake when Eren grabbed his leg and yanked on it. “Ah,” he cried out as he slid down in his seat, “Let me go you little shit!”

The two of them were interrupted by a soft giggle, “You two are so cute, how long have you been dating?” a waitress smiled at them and Eren felt Levi tense up.

“We’re not dating,” he said ignoring the sharp pang he felt in his chest. Even if he wanted to date Levi he was pretty sure the older man only saw him as a nuisance.

“Oh,” the waitress said, “Just really good friends then.” Eren even doubted that. He and Levi hadn’t talked in a while, for all he knew Levi could hate him. “Well what can I get you two?”

“A small cup of black tea and a plain bagel,” Levi said stoically, he looked tired now and maybe even a little sad. 

“I'll just have a small coffee,” Eren said, handing her his menu, "Thank you.”

The awkward silence from before was back. Neither Eren not Levi said a word for a long stretch of time. The two of them had no idea what to talk about.

Levi sighed and Eren looked up at him questioningly, “I guess I should tell you why I called you crying.”

“You don't have to, Levi.”

“I know,” Levi said, “but I want to.”  
Levi rubbed his eyes in frustration. “I want to get it off my chest.”

“Okay,” Eren said, “Go ahead.”

...

Levi began slowly telling his life story from the beggining. He paused only momentarily to take a sip of his tea or collect his thoughts. He told Eren about his small family of thieves and their ultimate demise at the hands of gang members. He told him the story of meeting Erwin and Hanji, and falling for Petra. And with great difficulty, he explained how he had gotten Petra and their friends killed. He told Eren everything, and when he was done he felt oddly terrified of what Eren would think of him.

For awhile Eren said nothing and Levi was sure that he was going to leave him. _Isn’t this ironic? All this time I’ve been trying to figure out how to push Eren away, and now I’m afraid he will leave me._ Levi could feel tears welling up in his eyes threatening to fall. _I’m so fucking stupid. He’s going to hate me. I’m falling in love with him, and now he’s going to leave me._ Levi’s hard façade was crumbling, and he felt like a complete idiot.

“Levi,” Eren whispered, and Levi braced himself for what next, but nothing came. Instead he felt a body slide in the booth next to him and warm arms wrapping around his body. Eren wasn’t disgusted by him, he was hugging him.

Levi rested his head on Eren’s shoulder and gripped his shirt for dear life. For the second time that night Levi cried. Eren shielded his small body from prying eyes and cooed softly in his ear. Yet for some odd reason Levi felt a burst of anger flow through him.

“How can you hug me? I’m a monster! I killed Isabel and Farlan! I killed Petra! It’s all my fault, J'ai tué eux,” Levi punctuated each sentence with a half hearted punch to Eren’s chest. Eren’s only reaction was to run his fingers through Levi’s smooth black hair calmingly.

“You didn’t kill any of them, Levi. You didn’t pull the trigger on Isabel and Farlan, and you didn’t crash the car into that light pole. Stop blaming yourself for things you couldn’t control. You can’t keep hurting yourself to keep others safe. You need to stop pushing away everyone who cares about you. It’s okay to depend on others sometimes. You don’t always have to stay strong. It’s okay to cry, and you have plenty of shoulders to cry on,” Eren’s words echoed in Levi’s head. He wasn’t sure about how much he believed it, but at the moment he felt like Eren was his wall. Eren was his rock. He was his shelter from the outside world. At that moment, he felt loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long since I've updated. We're almost out of the woods though! Angsty shit is really quite tiring OTL.  
> French Translation  
> J'ai tué eux = I killed them


	9. Midnight Memories. Mp3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things are happening.

Eren was really getting tired of college. He would be lying if he said it wasn't taking a toll on him. He had never felt so drained in his entire life. It had been three weeks since had done anything fun. He hadn't slept in days. Coffee was now his ichor, and the artificial energy was much needed. Why was Eren in such terrible shape you ask? One word. Two syllables. Finals.

Eren was seriously screwed. Although Levi had been tutoring him for a few months now, he and Eren had plunged into awkwardly avoiding each other so they hadn't been very productive and his Classic literature grade was suffering because of it, even Jean had a better mark than him and the bastard had the IQ of a horse. Eren's only hope was to get a pretty good grade on his final exam so he had been cramming, yet he had neglected to even start his watercolour piece or take any good photos for his photography class.

Eren only remembered his two art projects after Mikasa had asked him how he was doing with choosing his major. He had been in college for months and his major was still undecided. With his grades suffering in English he had almost forgotten to work on any art at all.

Eren would be lying if he said he had no muse. Lately he had only one thing on his mind. Any art piece he had started within the past few months no matter if it was a landscape piece, a portrait, or abstract, was inspired by one person. The very person he was avoiding like the plague. Levi Ackerman was his new muse.

Eren rubbed his bleary eyes and glared at the canvas in front of him. On it a skilful mix of grays, blues, blacks, browns, and pale greens had blended together in what could only be described as ethereal. Eren readily admitted that his latest piece was startlingly beautiful, but it was not what he had set out to paint. He had no idea what exactly he had meant to capture on canvas, but it definitely wasn't that. On a large canvas painted in great detail was an almost perfect likeness of Levi.

"Fuck," Eren whispered, "fuck, fuck, Fuck!" Apparently Eren was more screwed than he had previously thought. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the image he had worked so hard on, but a part of him felt that out would be a crime to ruin something so beautiful. Eren couldn't bring him self to destroy it so he did the next best thing, Eren made sure the paint was dry before throwing a sheet over the canvas, putting on a jacket, and walking out his dorm with his camera in his hands. 

The crisp air slapped Eren in the face as soon as he walked out the door. He breathed in deeply instantly feeling 10 times better. November in Trost was always pretty nice at least to Eren it was. 

Eren looked at the scenery with a wide grin on his face. It felt nice to be out of his form for a while. He held up his camera and started taking photos of the university's quad. The large trees had a wide array of fantastic colours painted on their leaves. The reds faded into brilliant oranges which held hints of pale yellow. The beauty of it all was astounding. Eren had only begun taking a few pictures when he heard a screechy voice holler his name. He turned around just in time to avoid being tackled by an overexcited brunette.

"You're Eren right? Its so nice to finally meet you! You're quite the looker eh. That explains it. " The brunette said all this in one breath.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Eren asked.

"I'm Hanji Zoe, Levi's best friend, although he'd never admit it."

Eren stared at Hanji. Their wild brown eyes held unbridled excitement and just a hint of a fanatic gleam. "Hi," he said cautiously, "did you want to tell me something or..."

"Oh yeah I wanted to ask you something!"

"Okay..."

Hanji's face suddenly turned deadly serious, "What are your feelings for Levi?"

Eren spluttered in embarrassment, "What do you mean?" 

"You know exactly what I mean Eren, what are your intentions?" Hanji's fanatic gleam suddenly seemed more cynical, dangerous even. Eren felt an extreme sense of déjà vu.

"I've seen you before, but you were different," Eren's eyes gleamed over as he struggled to grasp the fleeting memory that passed through his mind, "Where have I seen you?" Just like that the memory was gone, Eren felt a shiver roll down his spine as a splitting headache seized him.

Hanji stared at him through their oversized glasses, "Perhaps you know more than I thought, Even now you continue to surprise me Jaeger." Their face split into a large grin and they cackled loudly, " Wait till Erwin hears about this!" And just like that, they were gone.

Eren frowned, head still throbbing, "What the hell was that about?" He looked down at his watch and grimaced, it was 11:05, he was supposed to be meeting Mikasa and Armin for lunch at 11:20. He had 20 minutes to get all the way to Survey Coffee and Books. before Mikasa would start hunting him down. He shut off his camera and started off in the direction of the store praying that he wouldn't be too late.

....

He showed up 10 minutes late. He jogged into the shop breathless after sprinting all the way to the shop. As soon as he walked in he saw Mikasa at a table in the small coffee shop in the back of the homely bookstore. 

"Where were you," Mikasa asked as soon as he reached her, "We said 11:20 not 11:30."

"Sorry, I got distracted taking pictures." Eren decided not to tell her about his strange encounter with Hanji. 

"Hmm," Mikasa scoffed clearly not impressed with his answer,"its obvious that you are leaving something out. What else happened?"

Just at that moment Armin sat down with a tower of books in his arms. Eren swore he was like some kind of guardian angel. Somehow he always had perfect timing. If he wasn't like his brother, Eren probably would've married the blonde coconut.

"Hey Armin, what books have you got there?"

Armin glared at Eren suspiciously, "What did you do?" 

"Yes Eren answer my question? What were you doing?" Mikasa smirked at her brother.

Eren retracted his previous statement, Armin was no guardian angel. "Fine," he sighed defeated, "I ran into one of Levi's friends and I was talking to them."

Mikasa glared, "You're still hanging out with that stupid little troll?"

"I wasn't even hanging out with him, and he's not a troll! What's your problem with him anyway?"

"There's something off about him, I know he's gonna hurt you somehow. I don't trust him."

"He's not gonna hurt me, Mikasa. He's a good person."

"Anyway which one of his friends did you meet?" Armin asked.

"Hanji," Eren said, " do either of you know them?"

Armin frowned, "the name sounds familiar..." Armin's stomach growled loudly reminding them all why they were there in the first place.

"I'll go order our food," Eren said," What do you want?" After taking their orders and confirming them he started walking to the counter. 

The man at the counter turned around and smiled at Eren before his blue eyes flashed with recognition. 

"Commander Erwin?" Eren said with disbelief. For a second their setting changed. Commander Erwin stood in front of him in his crisp survey corps uniform. He stared Eren down with cold and calculating blue eyes. Eren felt like a hammer had hit his head. He blinked rapidly trying to make sense of what his eyes were seeing. His eyes couldn't seem to make up their mind flashing with strange pictures of Erwin in a uniform and as a barista in quick succession.

"Eren!" Erwin's voice sounded far off now yet somehow it sounded different, deeper. Erens vision began to fade and he heard a shrill ringing in his ears. It drowned out the sound of everyone's yells. He blinked rapidly as he felt himself falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise its a new update. This suddenly turned into a reincarnation AU. I'm going to try to update soon. You're allowed to slap me for taking so long.


	10. I can't help falling in love with you.mp3

Eren woke up with a splitting headache that pounded into his head like a jackhammer on a construction site. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. An annoying beeping noise pierced his ears. He groaned and blearily tried to open his eyes. Violently bright white light assaulted his eyes making his headache a thousand times worse and he immediately regretted trying to open his eyes.

"Holy shit, fuck me in the ass," he grimaced trying to catch his bearings. Somehow his senses were overloading causing him to feel dizzy and slightly nauseated.

"Jeez kid keep talking like that and your friends will start to think I'm a bad influence on you," a familiar voice uttered in a comforting dull tone.

"Levi?"

"The one and only," Levi replied handing Eren some painkillers and a glass of water. As if sensing Eren's impending question he opened his mouth to answer. “You were only out for about an hour or so but the doctor said you definitely have a concussion, the severity of which she's not sure.”

Eren groaned once again, he had had his fair share of concussions as a child and he knew all the implications of the situation. His finals were in less than a week and a half and if the concussion was severe enough he would probably be unable to take them. He couldn't tell if that was a blessing or a curse.

He was interrupted from his mental dilemma by the sound of Levi's laugh. He looked up and his heart stuttered in his chest.

Levi was laughing into his hand his lips turned up into a smile of mirth. His nose wrinkled up cutely at it bridge. Eren stared at the beautiful sight creating a mental picture for his artwork. Levi was absolutely beautiful, and for the hundredth time since his realisation of his feelings, Eren was reminded of how much he liked Levi.

"What's so funny," a deep voice asked as the unmistakable form of Erwin Smith walked through the door. Eren felt like he had been doused in ice water as shock coursed through his system.

“The brat looked like he was constipated in the middle of a battle,” Levi continued laughing, but Eren was no longer amused.

The appearance of Erwin and the unknowing implications of Levi's statement had reminded him of why he was currently concussed.

He was reminded of something from another life.

...

“You alright kid? You look like you're about to pass the fuck out."

Eren was shocked by how familiar yet totally unfamiliar this Levi was. He stared Eren down with the same startling steely grey eyes, yet something about them was different. They seemed harsher and almost weary. He had his signature undercut that framed his angular face. He wore an odd outfit, a prim and pressed shirt with a white cravat, his pants were tan but had odd leather straps crossing up around his legs.

Eren looked down at his own legs noticing that he had the same thing on. He was currently finishing strapping then on with practised ease.

"Oi, brat," Levi got Eren's attention again but this time his voice was gentler, "seriously are you alright, I don't want you going out and fighting if you're not feeling alright."

Eren spoke but not out of his own will. His hollow voice reminded him that he was in a memory, none of it was real. “Aw Corporal, keep talking like that and people will start to think that the heartless machine of a warrior might actually have feelings.”

...  
“Oi! brat!" Eren startled at the sound of Levi shouting.

“Huh," he said dumbly looking up to see Levi's concerned face.

“You alright there? You looked like you were going to pass out again."

Deja vu hit Eren once again and he shivered at the uncanny feeling.

"Alright you seriously look like shit. Do you want me to get a nurse?"

"No," Eren said resolving not to tell Levi about his visions, “I'm fine,” he lied.

He was anything but fine. He was concussed a week before finals. He was currently falling for an older guy who just happened to be his tutor. His only muse was said tutor, and to add insult to injury, he had just discovered that he had known his tutor/ crush in a past life and probably had feelings for him back then too, whenever 'then' was. In short, Eren was royally fucked.

...

Eren left the hospital with the diagnosis of a moderate concussion and a bitch of a headache. Levi had offered to drive him home, but backed off when Mikasa had threatened to kick his midget ass. Levi didn't strike back however, because it was obvious that the girl was seriously worried about her little brother. She had at least been kind enough to notify Levi of Eren's injury.

Much to his irritation, Mikasa had insisted Eren rest while she coddled him like a sick two year old. She had made him stay in bed without TV, books, or anything to occupy him while she attempted to figure out how to cook chicken noodle soup. After about an hour of loud clanging and frustrated curses, Mikasa gave up and called Armin and asked him to help her.

Eren squinted at his ceiling fan, wondering if Mikasa would yell at him for taking out his sketch book. He decided that he honestly didn't care if she got mad, he was going to go insane if he didn't do something to keep his mind off his mysterious visions.

Eren tiptoed to his desk wincing every single time the floorboards creaked as his foot was placed on them. He quickly grabbed his sketchbook and as he made his way back to his mattress, he turned on the lamp next to his bed. He tried to crawl into bed as quietly as possible internally cursing every time the bed creaked.

He finally was able to relax and start sketching whatever image came to his mind. He frantically scribbled his pencil across the paper creating an amazing mix of light grey shading and harsh dark lines. Soon the images began to take shape. An amused smile, fierce eyes, a powerful body, the page was cooled with images of Levi. Levi laughing at the hospital. Levi glaring. Levi fighting. Eren was surprised to realise that these drawings didn't just depict Levi currently, but the Levi from the past as well.

Apparently he was doomed to be royally fucked in every lifetime. He was doomed to fall for Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit man it's been like a year it feels like. I'll try to be better I wrote this in one day so of it sucks that's why.

**Author's Note:**

> This is horrible and I'm sorry  
> I'll try to update on Wednesdays and Sundays  
> follow me on tumblr!  
> http://say-no-to-fvcks.tumblr.com/


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